Landmark case on hands-free mobile in UK.

In what is seen as a landmark case, a sales boss, called Marie Howden, who was using a legal hands-free phone when she crashed and killed another driver, was recently found guilty of causing death by careless driving. The prosecutor said: ‘She lost control because she was distracted by the call. The collision would not have happened if she had not been on the phone and had been paying attention.' Her final call was to a work colleague at 8.23am which lasted five minutes before she lost control of her car. She later told officers: 'It is entirely legal to use a mobile phone with a hands-free kit. I regularly make and receive calls while driving. My car is effectively my office.'

The court heard Howden had earlier been seen swerving across the road and that 'minutes before the crash she was seen in the wrong lane and drove in front of a car. She was using a handsfree kit with wired headphones attached when she fatally crashed in November 2007.